The War Within
This event was the first to have a literary story succeeding a long history of comic-style stories. Story Summary This story is narrated by the leaderboard fighter, Zroyia - Aghasa - Quabelona and features Kelara - Deagan - Hudjam. It describes the former disparity between the Hemi and other tribes and how that inequality has now been mostly breached. It also features one of the narrator's evolutions, and explains a little of how that process happens. Story Aghasa should have been happy; no exos had been seen in the Ribbon Strand for three full moons. Even that last incursion bore the mark of a fluke, a drone set off-course by its faulty lodestone. Two years ago, she reflected, I had no words to describe even these simple occurrences. The waves nudged the scallop higher and she saw a figure waiting on shore, kelp-hued locks barely stirring in the brisk morning breeze. There are entire ecologies of thought beyond my ken. Five centuries I've existed without once suspecting they were there, let alone breached the boundaries. “Water is restless, I see.” The crone rasped unseen from behind her matted hair. “Water has doubts.” “Who does not, in a time such as ours?” Aghasa said lightly as she joined Hudjam on the narrow beach. “We have fought the machines to a stalemate--and make no progress beyond that.” The shadow of the Conch Gate doused the sun-sparks off the water that swirled to her waist, and the two fighters entered the city in silence. The sentries above saluted them, the sea-silk of their caps impossibly rosy against the white stone. “A fine, open gate, where once the walls continued unbroken,” Hudjam said softly. “Gallants making obeisance to a couple of half-breeds, half-breeds using magic at that.” She nodded to the floating scallop that allowed the mermaid freedom of the shore. “Much has changed, I agree.” Aghasa replied noncommittally; the habit of caution died hard in a hemi. Besides, the warlock had grown even more inscrutable after her recent evolution, and Aghasa rather missed Deagan, Hudjam’s more talkative ur-self. By unspoken agreement, they took the long way, past a courtyard full of little ones at morning meal. A foster deposited slices of melopep onto the plates of older children, who examined the treat with all the gravity of a strategos before falling to. Aghasa always slowed to watch the young ones, though it awakened an old sadness. For her, there had been no playmates, no food for pleasure. Instead there had been the high city wall, just a stone’s throw from where an unlettered mer-girl bobbed on the waves wanting--what had she wanted? More than I was given. Better than I could hope. “Will the gates close, if we defeat the exos?” Hudjam’s question hung in the air like oil in water. “Will the young ones feed in three courtyards instead of one--or two courtyards and a midden heap?” Startled, Aghasa looked at her companion. “I see you gaze at them,” the warlock said. “For me, it was the midden. And you--the tideline, I’d wager?” The world around her flexed like an undertow, and Aghasa suddenly found she could not move. They were in a shadowed cul-de-sac now, but her quantum of the sea was throwing unbearably bright chips of sunlight in her eyes, on the coralline walls. There was a door at the end of the alley, in green and gold of the Lord Mayor’s Office. Where was she? They had been headed to the games lodge, but Hudjam had steered them off the usual path. Aghasa’s ears were full of clicking, and she found that she could see the door twice, as though through two sets of eyes. “The iris doesn’t just connect places.” Someone was saying, a stranger who spoke in Aghasa's own accents. She felt giddy, on the verge of some vast newness. She found her voice. “I’m...changing,” she said to Hudjam. “Help me.” Hudjam continued as though she had not heard. “Would you defeat the exos, if it meant the return of old ways?” “No.” “Would you prolong this war, for the cause of the hemi?” The sense of being doubled was growing. She saw that she had built herself anew, and now that self was reaching back through time to gather the past to the future. It had not been like this last time, when Zroiya became Aghasa. Was this how it was with Hudjam, why she retained so little of Deagan? “Not for the cause of the hemi,” she whispered, vaguely aware that her tail was wildly lashing the water, inundating the limestone flags. “For the cause of...wonder. To think new thoughts. To be changed by them. I would fight anything for that.” “I see.” Hudjam absently tapped the ground with her staff. The spreading puddle vanished. At the end of the cul-de-sac, the green and gold door opened and a hulking figure stepped through with surprising nimbleness. “Walk easy, Councillor. Aghasa shares our cause, or near enough to it.” The limp form in the scallop sat up. “Near enough,” she agreed. “But my name is Quabelona. It’s high time we get to the lodge--we’ve much work ahead of us.” Summary In PvP, there are Brackets. Players are placed in a Bracket Leaderboard which consists of eleven Echelons and a pre-Echelon Phase. Players are promoted through Echelons by gaining points. Upon reaching 2,000 Points, they are promoted to Echelon VIII, where promotion is determined by bracket battles. Bracket Battles involve players competing against other bracket players to gain the most points within a day. The people with the most points get rewarded, some remain standing still on the Echelon, and the worst may be demoted to a lower Echelon. Note: You can be double promoted by placing first in your echelon in this event; for example, if Echelon III will be released the next day, and you are in Echelon V and place 1st, you will be double promoted to Echelon III. However, if you are in Echelon IV and place 1st, you will be promoted to Echelon III. While journeying in Normal Mode, players will encounter Other Defenders.' '''To battle Other Defenders, you need to spend BP. You can spend 1BP for a non-edged fight, 2BP for a 150% Edge and 120% Points Boost, 3BP for a 200% Edge and a 150% Points Boost. The Points Boosts stack with Frenzy Boosts. Once you have elected to fight '''Other Defenders', you will have 10 minutes to complete the encounter. For each Other Defenders Encounter, there will be a selection of three opponents to battle, each giving an increasing amount of points with difficulty. After defeating one opponent, another three options will be given. This is repeated until you have defeated three Other Defenders, lost a battle, or run out of time. Winning all three battles of this Encounter will grant you a "winning streak" bonus. Getting your winning streak to 30 will reset the win streak count and give you rewards accordingly. However, if you lose a battle, your streak will reset to 0. Opponent's difficulty are calculated based on the amount of 30-Win Streaks completed. The difficulty is reduced when you lose battles. Occasionally, when encountering other defenders, players will enter a Frenzy, which lasts five minutes. During this time, players will receive double the points when victorious against opponents. An addition to this event was a Serendipity encounter which would refill your BP at the end of a 3-win streak. This event saw the return of the Megalomania band. Like the previous event, this band appeared randomly at the end of a 3-win streak, much like Banunurama. The band increases in difficulty and prize potential as your echelon level increases. Rewards are either Power Fodder or the fighter presented in the line of fighters. The fighters available are typically ones released in that event. Another returning PvP Battle type is the Banunurama. Occasionally, during PvP battles, players have a chance to encounter a combination of Ikkupi or Banunu and battle them. They are always found on the third battle of an encounter. Winning against a line of three Banunu rewards players with a special prize: ???. Event Units __FORCETOC__ Category:PvP Event Category:Events Category:Short story